Obama Releases Security Review of Attempted Bombing

"I just think what's pervasive through the country, and has been now for a number of years, is the complacency, an inertia, a business-as-usual attitude ... that I think is harmful," Hamilton said.

That complacent attitude, he said, includes the entire political leadership of the United States -- Obama, congressional leaders and the "many, many people that have had a part in homeland security."

Congress to Conduct Its Own Security Reviews

In the wake of the attempted Dec. 25 attack, Congress is expected to hold a number of hearings on homeland security when it returns from its winter recess later this month.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, was critical of Obama's remarks Thursday, saying in a statement that the president's response "falls short" when it comes to stopping potential terrorists from entering the country.

Collins called on the State Department to suspend visas of everyone in the "broadest terrorist database," pending further investigation. Her committee is slated to consider the Christmas bomb plot in a hearing on Jan. 21.

House Homeland Security Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., announced today that his panel would hold a hearing on the plot on Jan. 27.

"The hearing will give us a unique opportunity to provide the public with insight on this event and the security failures that led to what the president has appropriately labeled a systemic failure," he said.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the findings of the administration's security review a "chilling narrative" reminiscent of the failures leading to Sept. 11.

"Eight years later, inadequate analysis of critical information remains of paramount concern," he said, also promising to hold oversight hearings this month.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, scheduled to discuss worldwide threats to the U.S. on Feb. 2, is also likely to address the incident and intelligence shortfalls.

Obama: Administration 'Dodged a Bullet' on Dec. 25 Incident

Obama's strongest previous comments about the Christmas Day incident came Tuesday when he said that the nation's security and intelligence systems "failed in a potentially disastrous way" when Abdulmutallab allegedly was able to board a U.S.-bound flight with explosives strapped to his underwear.

He told members of his national security team behind closed doors that the intelligence failure around the attempted Christmas day attack was a "screw-up" and that they only dodged a bullet because of brave individuals of Flight 253.

"This was a screw-up that could have been disastrous," the president said in the Situation Room, according to a White House official. "We dodged a bullet, but just barely. It was averted by brave individuals, not because the system worked, and that is not acceptable. While there will be a tendency for finger pointing, I will not tolerate it."